Brown Scapular brownies for Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Just another way to celebrate this great Feast day :)

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Mount Carmel Steamers

Here is a simple morning treat I made for my children today, in honor of the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

Mount Carmel Steamers

• 4 cups milk
• 1/2 cup Hershey's Caramel syrup

I used our Cocoa-Latte Hot Drink Maker(this is such a fun machine!) which heated, mixed, whipped, and frothed our caramel milk perfectly.

Update: Ours is no longer available. You can find a similar model or a milk frother here.

Other options:

• Prepare one serving at a time by adding 2 Tablespoons syrup to 8 oz. of heated milk.
• Make a delicious cold Caramel drink by using cold milk.
• Add instant coffee to make a café-style Caramel Latte (This is how I made mine this morning. Yummm!!)
• Top with a "Mount" of whipped cream and then a bit more caramel. (Which I intended to do and then totally forgot!!)

Enjoy!

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Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Crown

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I have often resorted to the bundt cake on feast days because it makes such a lovely crown. On St. Elizabeth of Hungary's feast day, we made a Hungarian jeweled crown and for today's feast day, the feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, I made a caramel-glazed buttermilk pound cake into a lovely crown for Our Lady. Not perfect by any stretch, but it will be memorable for the children. After glazing the warm cake, I let it cool, whipped up a bit of decorator frosting and made some large rosettes with a bag and a tip. In the center of each rosette I placed a chocolate-covered caramel (what else?) and then another small rosette.

Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Crown Cake


3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter
3 cups white sugar
6 eggs
1 teaspoon lemon extract
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease and flour a bundt pan or 10 inch tube pan

In a large bowl, beat butter with sugar. One at time, crack the eggs into a small bowl and add to butter mixture, beating well after each addition. Add the lemon and the vanilla extracts. Add one cup flour along with baking soda and salt. Add one third of the buttermilk, beating well. Add one cup of flour and 1/3 cup buttermilk and then repeat with remaining flour and buttermilk. Scrape sides of bowl and beat again until completely smooth. Pour batter into the prepared pan.

Bake in preheated oven for 80 to 90 minutes (do not open oven door until you are ready to check for doneness). Check for doneness with a toothpick. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

Icing

1 c. sugar
1⁄2 c. buttermilk
1⁄2 t. baking soda
1 T. white corn syrup
1⁄4 c. butter
1⁄2 t. vanilla
¼ c. powdered sugar

Combine white sugar, buttermilk, soda, syrup, and butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat and bring to a slow boil. Boil without stirring for 5 to 7 minutes, or until icing starts to turn dark. Do NOT allow icing to reach soft ball stage; icing should be caramel in color, but not sticky like caramel. Icing should be easily pourable. Cool for several minutes. Whisk in vanilla and powdered sugar until smooth. Pour through a sieve into a measuring cup with a spout. Slowly drizzle the icing onto the cake, allowing it to drip slowly down the sides. If you want a perfectly smooth finish (which I did not achieve) start at the peak of the cake and drizzle all the way around moving out a tiny bit each time you complete a circle. Do the same inside the peak but do not go back over the same area twice.


To decorate, using stiff decorator's frosting in a bag with a rosette tip (see note below), make a 1-inch wide by 1/2-inch high rosette in six or seven places on the top of the cake (six was about perfect for a bundt cake, but if you used a tube pan you may be able to fit more). Place a chocolate covered caramel on each rosette and then top each caramel with a small rosette. Place in a cool place until serving.


Note: You can using canned frosting or make a small recipe of decorator frosting using 2 T. butter whipped with 1-1/2 cup powdered sugar and several teaspoons milk. Whip until fluffy.


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In Honor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel

July 16th is the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Last year, inspired by Anne, I made a Brown Scapular Cake with the help of my little sister. My children loved it and asked if we could make another one this year. I was a bit worried on how it would turn out since my sister moved out of state and couldn't drop by to draw Our Lady for me, and I also seem to have some sort of nerve problem in my left hand which made it very difficult to keep my hands steady. In the end, despite all the little flaws, my children were thrilled and are so excited for tomorrow. ☺ Nevertheless, next year I think I might just decorate it as a Sports Scapular!

I plan to serve the cake with some Vanilla Ice Cream, topped with some caramel sauce. Yummmm!!

If you happened to make one, I would love to see yours and will link to it below. If you don't have a blog, you can always email a picture and I can upload it to this post:

This cake is from Anne, who inspired me in the first place. She creatively used two round chocolate mud cakes cut into rectangles and made the scapular's straps from some of the remaining cake.

She them laminated the traditional images and placed them on top of the cake. It turned out beautiful Anne!

Here is another scapular cake, this one from Harmony at Wholesome Feasts. It too turned out just lovely!

This beautiful cake was made by Life at Le. Rheims:

Thank you all for sharing your cakes with all of us!

I hope you all have a blessed feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel!

Prayer to Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Thou who, with special mercy, look upon those clothed in thy beloved Habit, cast a glance of pity upon me. Fortify my weakness with thy strength; enlighten the darkness of my mind with thy wisdom; increase my faith, hope and charity. Assist me during life, console me by thy presence at my death, and present me to the August trinity as thy devoted child, that I may bless thee for all eternity in Paradise. Amen.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel ~ Pray for us!

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A Brown Scapular Cake

Today, inspired by Anne, I made a Brown Scapular Cake to celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

For our cake I used a simple yellow GOLD cake mix (baked in a 9x13 pan and cut in half) and topped with chocolate brown frosting. I used two brown pipe cleaners for the cord, and then decorated it with some white frosting.

My sister Julianna stopped by for a couple minutes before work, and I talked her into drawing the image of Our Lady, since she is such an artist! Didn't she do a beautiful job?! I did the (attempted) writing on the right. (I am very new to cake decorating, but it sure is fun!!) In case you can't read it, it says:

"Whosoever dies wearing this SCAPULAR
shall not suffer eternal fire..."

For more information on the Brown Scapular, please visit A Catholic Life. (Thank you Seminarian Matthew for the link!)

Our Lady of Mount Carmel ~ Pray for us!

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Mystic Monk Coffee

Speaking of the upcoming feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and Coffee... I thought I would take this opportunity to draw your attention to the Carmelite Monks in Wyoming.

In order to build an abbey and support themselves, the Carmel of the Immaculate Heart of Mary is roasting and distributing Mystic Monk Coffee.

Mystic Monk Coffee is roasted by the Carmelite Monks, a Roman Catholic monastery in the silence and solitude of the Rocky Mountains of northern Wyoming. The monks live a hidden life of prayer and contemplation in the pursuit of God. The monastery is inundated with young men who seek to leave everything to pray for the world, in a tradition at least a thousand years old. It is the monks’ great joy and privilege to share the fruit of their life with you in every cup of Mystic Monk Coffee.

We are especially fond of this particular Carmel, are currently Guild Members, and my husband even had the opportunity to visit since his brother spent a few months there before returning to the FSSP.

So... What are you waiting for? Hop on over and order some coffee, and while your at it, don't forget to order their CD. The music is beautiful! Pin It

A Cake for Our Lady of Mount Carmel

The night before last, I sat here trying to think of something to bake for the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, which is coming up on July 16th. I was looking for ideas online, and in various cookbooks, and wasn't having very much luck. I started thinking that it would be so neat to make a dessert based on the Brown Scapular.

I didn't really know exactly how I would be able to pull it off, but today I received an email from Kimberlee directing me over to Under Her Starry Mantle. It was just what I was looking for!!!

Last year Anne made a beautiful Brown Scapular Cake for the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Head on over to her blog and check it out! It's amazing! Pin It

Granita di Caffe

In the Feast Day Cookbook, Katherine Burton recommends making Granita di Caffe, a cool and refreshing Coffee Ice beverage, for the summer time feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

Granita di Caffe

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 cups warm water
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 2 cups strong coffee

Stir the sugar into the warm water until it is melted and add the lemon juice. Stir for about five minutes. Add the coffee, strain, place in a freezing tray, and then freeze (stirring frequently), until it becomes a mush.

Serve the ice slush in glasses, with any of the following toppings:

• Whipped cream (add vanilla, sugar, almond extract, etc.)
• Liqueurs (Amaretto, Kahlua, Baileys, etc.)
• Chocolate curls
• Small pieces candied citrus peel

I actually think it would be perfect topped with whipped cream and some caramel sauce, don't you? Pin It